Pristine Pioneers; How Deep Do You Clean?

[100Acre]

This is the first OHV I personally have ever owned and I'd like it last for some time to come. Coming back from the Takeover I think the Scarab gained a few lbs of mud, clay, brush, rocks, animal and insect parts . When you wash your machines, do you just blow off the leaves, dust and mud or do you pressure wash every nook and cranny? Obviously a clean machine will last in the long run but do you ever clean it like you're gonna sell it and how often do you give it a deep thorough cleaning? No, I'm not selling mine just yet, but I want it to last and run well for some time to come. I have a SunJoe electric pressure washer I got off amazon to wash produce grown here on the farm and it works well cleaning the machine for the most part and was a heck of a lot cheaper than buying a gas powered Honda or any other brand. My UHMW skid plates seem to be holding some of the detritus(debris) in hard to reach places and I was wondering if you guys ever remove your skid plates to get a thorough cleaning as well as how often do you do a really thorough job ? Lastly are there areas or wiring above and below that I need to avoid blasting?
I thank thee...

 

[Admin]

 

[Wallace]

Just back it off in a swift river with the winch tied to a big tree. About steering wheel deep ought to do it. Unless you want to clean that roof. LOL.

 

[Chooglin]

I prefer to just use a garden hose but will use the pressure washer if it's real bad. A garden hose with a multi spray pattern nozzle, helps to clean out the hard to reach places.

I remove my skid plates at the end of riding season and give the entire machine a good cleaning.

As far as the electronics, I spray them lightly to wash off dust and mud (mainly under the hood)

 

[Rayrule]

Hit it with a pressure washer to remove heavy dirt / mud, spray the whole rig down with Simple Green & rinse it off before it dries with low pressure. Then apply either Honda brand plastic polish or Maxima SC1 Clear coat polish with a micro fiber. Then sit back & watch it shine like a baby’s behind.

 

[lee]

I pulled the hood, seat back and bottom.
Leaned the ATV loading ramp on the lawn roller.
Pulled the front of the p500 up on the ramp and started pressure washing.
Turned it around once and 2 1/2 hours later it was passibly clean.

The front had some seriously packed in mud and one side had mud jammed in along the fender and B pillar.
Looks like some one laid it on it's side.

 

[100Acre]

I pulled the hood, seat back and bottom.
Leaned the ATV loading ramp on the lawn roller.
Pulled the front of the p500 up on the ramp and started pressure washing.
Turned it around once and 2 1/2 hours later it was passibly clean.

The front had some seriously packed in mud and one side had mud jammed in along the fender and B pillar.
Looks like some one laid it on it's side.

I know the feeling X3

 

[DG Rider]

I move to the desert where I don't have to deal with the "mud" stuff. I hate mud. Oh well...

 

[trigger]

I cleaned everything pretty thoroughly with a garden hose, under hood, wheel wells and everything else I could get to. Then wiped the hood, seats, dash and windshield down with a rag. Plan to remove skids this weekend and get everything I can under there. That TN mud is like glue!

 

[Mudder]

Garden hose or pressure washer. 80-90% since likely getting dirty next day. Do enusure brake disc and suspension joints get mud off. Takeover was extreme, so did the under hood/seat spray and any open tube frame flush.

 

[Chooglin]

any open tube frame flush.

Good idea !

 

[Mudder]

Also spray tubes with this periodically with air hose, aircraft tube frame corrosion inhibitor (crawls up tube walls..or so they say). Don’t know how much it helps, but no harm I guess.

 

[NTCPrezJB]

I'm not likely to ever showroom clean an atv/SxS/dirtbike, but I do wash them up after most rides so that mud doesn't end up on the garage floor. I like to be able to check nuts and bolts as well as for signs of any leaks in between trips. That said I know guys that get out to the next ride and the floor of their truck/trailer has dirt clumps kicked out of the way to unload and go ride. I've never been towed out for anything other than a flat tire. I can't say the same for some of my friends. Could be dumb luck of course.

End of riding season I do a deep clean so that I can completely go over the machine before I park it. Who knows what might get ordered and bolted on before next riding season. Much nicer to work on something clean for sure.

 

[Deleted member 3748]

Good idea !

So much comes out of the frame.

 

[Chooglin]

I bought the frame end caps for mine but I was curious what might be inside the frame , so I popped the caps off tonight and was surprised how clean it was in there. So for anyone that doesn't have the end caps , you need to get them !

 

[Deluxe700]

I hate to say it...but mine would pass the "white glove test" every time. I prep it regularly so that dirt and mud doesn't stick in the first place. Then I really clean it from top to bottom. In my humble opinion, I would say that it is show room clean most times. I even take soap, wipes, hose and bucket ...anytime we go off away from home for a riding adventure. If it's on my trailer on in the garage...she is CLEAN and SHINY. ( I would be glad to provide picture proof to any non believers)
I use non-ethanol fuel and then run it thru a filter before it goes in the tank, just in case.
I know, I have some serious problems...just ask my wife.

 

[jawquin]

I hate to say it...but mine would pass the "white glove test" every time. I prep it regularly so that dirt and mud doesn't stick in the first place. Then I really clean it from top to bottom. In my humble opinion, I would say that it is show room clean most times. I even take soap, wipes, hose and bucket ...anytime we go off away from home for a riding adventure. If it's on my trailer on in the garage...she is CLEAN and SHINY. ( I would be glad to provide picture proof to any non believers)
I use non-ethanol fuel and then run it thru a filter before it goes in the tank, just in case.
I know, I have some serious problems...just ask my wife.

I wanna see a picture of it dirty. The gas thing is hilarious...... No need to ask the wife.

 

[jawquin]

Just heckling ya Deluxe700. Keep that up and the machine will serve you well.

 

[Montecresto]

I remove my skid plates at the end of riding season and give the entire machine a good cleaning.

Wow, that’s really ambitious, but surely a good idea. I’ve just never been able to figure out when the end of riding season is.

 

[Montecresto]

I bought the frame end caps for mine but I was curious what might be inside the frame , so I popped the caps off tonight and was surprised how clean it was in there. So for anyone that doesn't have the end caps , you need to get them !

Where were those available at?

 

[jinx]

Where were those available at?

I haven't purchased but here's a link I had saved. I didn't look into specifics and believe they have another set for the frame ends.

Honda Pioneer 700 Frame Caps - Bed area. | 2FarOffRoad.com